How to Look Fab and Not like a Zombie in 5 Minutes

How to fake looking alive after a late night.

-PJ Gach

Scary face
Scary face


We've all been there: The early dinner that turned into a late night gab-a-thon, the date that had you doing the walk of shame in O dark thirty, or was it the project that had to be done by 8 AM not matter what the cost. Whatever it was, the end result is that you look like an extra from The Walking Dead.

I'm an insomniac and loathe mornings. After much trial and error I've perfected a super quick regimen that turns me from road kill into human being in 5 minutes or less.

Not zombie
Not zombie

1.Pixi Flawless Vitamin Veil. $31, Target

I fell in love with this because the twee green box and its secret drawer. It's a cream-to-powder semi-sheer base that applies evenly and FAST. You can literally slap in on, although it would hurt.

2. Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Powder Blush. $4.99, Buy Me Beauty. Even though it's a powder, the blush stays on all day. I like the poppy shade because it brightens up my whole face. There have been morning-afters like say Election Night, when I needed the extra boost of color. As an aside, why did Romney stalk Ohio? Yeesh.

3. Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Shadow & Liner, Nude Eyes. $10.95, Drugstore.com. 9 shades that you can layer, mix and create any look. On a hurried day, I'll either do a super fast smoky eye with two shades or just use one shade, liner and toss on mascara. That leads me to

4. Pixi Large Lash Mascara, Bold Black. $18, Target. What I LOVE about this mascara is when I wash my face it disappears.

5. Shimmer Strips Physicians Formula Custom Eye Enhancing Kohl Kajal Eyeliner trio. $8.99, cvs. Three liners that can do all sorts of things: Draw a line of each color on your lid and smush into a shadow, use just one as a liner or go to town and layer the liners….yes, you can do this, it looks cool. They're totally malleable.

6. AVON Ultra Color Rich Brilliance Lipstick in Brilliant Ruby. $4.99, AVON. I love me red lipstick! This shade looks good on everyone-I've made a ton of friends try it (all with diff skin tones) and they all looked good in it. Oh, it like lasts forever.

Those 6 products will transform your face and possibly your mood from "Ugh" to "Hell ya!" If you want to pick up a couple of tips on how to get it all done pronto, watch the below video. I go through it all step-by-step, including how to do a smoky eye super fast. Just don't do what I did in the video-I accidentally poked myself in the eye.

PJ Gach is Editor at QueenofStyle.